Vegetable-assorter



2 'Sheets Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

J. H. HEINZ. VEGETABLB ASSORTER.

Patented Sept. 3, 1895.

3. .me a l// a L 70W/ fi. 5J..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

JOHN H. HEINZ, OF SHARPSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.v 545,689, dated September 3, 1895. Application led December 17, 1890. i Serial No. 375,020. (No model.)

vented a new and useful Improvement in Veg-V etable-Assorters; and I do' hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to what are commonly form of apparatus by which the several grades or sizes of the vegetables or fruits to be assorted may be classified and divided into separate receptacles according to their classification.

My invention relates more particularly to certain improvements over the apparatus describedfin'Patent No. 212,000, granted to me February 4, 1879, and relating to apparatus of the above-described form.

In the several devices shown and described in the above-mentioned patent provision is only made for assortin g the vegetables or fruits into three gradesdor sizes, While very often it is desirable to assort them into many different grades. To accomplish this result by the employment of the apparatus described in the above-mentioned patent it is necessary to first obtain three grades or sizes and then to assort by hand the smaller of these three grades or sizes, it being impracticableto provide for the asserting of all the sizes in one set of cylinders, the one Within the other, for the reason that as the vegetables pass through the openings they also pass longitudinally through the machine, and hence, unless an eX- ceedingly-long machine were employed, they'- would only enter theouter cylinder near the lower or discharge end thereof. This operation as heretofore practiced required a great amount of time and hand labor, which is expensive.

The object of my invention, therefore, is to diminish the time and -labor heretofore required and to provide a form of apparatus in' i oflongitudinal slots therein and apparatus for automatically conveying the unclassilied residue of one assorter to the assorter directly below adapted in the same manner to assort the residue according to their several grades.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention Iwill describe the sarne more fully, referring t0 the accompanying drawings, 'in which- Figure 1 is a side view; Fig. 2, a sectional view; Fig.3, an end'vi'ew, and Fig. 4t an enlarged view of mechanism for driving the conveyer and tightening the same.

, Like letters indicate likeparts.

The assorters A and B are similar in construction to the form of apparatus shown in the above-mentioned patent, No. 212,000. Accordingly said assorters are composed of the asserting-cylinders a a and b Z1', respectively, mounted on the inclined shafts c c', journaled in the frame C, the said shafts cc being inclined in order that certain grades of the vegetables or fruits fed into the several cylinders will be discharged from thelower ends thereon into suitable receptacles prepared to receive them, as will more fullyhereinafter appeal'. The cylinders@ d and bb are'constructed of longitudinal bars or slats arranged at intervals apart to provide the slots d d and e e', respectively, in said cylinders and to permit of the passage from the inner cylinders a and b to the outer cylinders a b of the smaller grades lof the vegetables or fruits fed thereto, the said cylinders a and b having the largest slots d aand so retaining only the vegetables or fruits of the largest size fed thereto.

, The feeding-hopper f is secured to the frame C at the upper end of the assorter A, said hopper having a chute f leading to the inner cylinder a, said chute being provided Witha slide gate or door f2 to regulate the supply of the vegetables to said cylinder. A chute g is secured to the lower end ofthe frame at the outlet of the inner cylinder a to carry od to any suitable receptacle'below the vegetables or fruits of a size Ywhich will notJ permitof their escape through the slots d to the outer cylinder a. The lower end of the said outer cylinder a may -be also supplied with a chute similar to the one leading from the inner cylinder a.

ICO

The assorters A B are preferably journaled in the frame C in the manner shown in Fig, 3-that is, the lower assorter B is journaled slightly to one side of and below the upper assorter A. The fact that the upper assorter A receives all grades and sizes of the fruits or vegetables to be assorted, while the lower assorter B receives only those not assorted by the assorter A, the said assorter B is constructed of a smaller diameter. Between the assorter A and the assorter B is the platform h, supported in any suitable manner and extending from the lower end of the outei cylinder a to the upper end of the outer cylinder b. At each end of said platform h are the sprocket-wheels t' i', the sprocket-wheel t' being secured to the cross-shaft j journaled in the frame C, while the sprocketwlieel t" is secured to the cross-shaft la, jour' naled in bearing-blocks 7c', adapted to travel within the giiiding-slots k2, formed within the guide-frame Z, secured to the frame C on both sides thereof. An endless` chain belt m i passes around the sprocket-wheel il e", said endless chain having conveyer-bars m secured at intervals thereon and adapted to convey the `vegetables or fruits depositedon the platform 7i to the discharge end thereof. Situated at the upper end of the assorter B is the chute it, leading to the inner cylinderb of the assorter B, `and the outlet of said cyl-` inderB maybe also providedgwith a chute for carrying oft the vegetables ejected from` the lower endthereof.

To provide for the revoln tion ,of` the assort-` on the inclined shaft c ofthe assorter B by by theV chain belt g2, thereby transmitting like` rotary movement to said assorter B.

In order to drive the endless chain ma second sprocket-wheel/ia is mounted on the shaft c of the assorterA, from which power is transmitted by the chain belt` fr to the` sprocket-wheel r2, mounted onfthe shafts,

journaled in the frame C. At the inner end i of the shaft s is mounted the` beveled pinion s', having the collar s2 formed `integral therewith, both said pinion and collar being adapt-` ed `to slide to and fro on the `feathers3 on the` shaft s, saidlfeather tting in a `correspond-` ing groove within the pinion s. lllounted onthe lowercross-shaftk is the beveled `pinion s, which meshes with thepinion spandiniorf. der to` retain said` piniont in ,engagement with thepinion `s when itis found `necessary torti'ghten the endless belt m anarm "u, con-V nectsv the` shaftlr to `the `pinion s, Said arm` having the collaru thereon loosely mounted l en saidshaft k, the` other end u2 of said arm being bifurcated and encircling the collar s2 This construction provides for the" onl the pinion 3said bifurcated arinl fitting in an annular groove in said collar to permit ofthe rotation of said collar together with 7o the pinion s. i

To provide for the longitudinal adjustment of the cross-shaft lr, in tightening the endless chain m, threadedbars o are secured to the journal-boxes la of the cross-shaft 7c, said bars 75 passing out through the ends of the guidingframe Z and having crank-nuts yu', through which the threaded bars fu pass. Upon the yrotation of said crank-nuts o' engaging with the threaded bars fu the crossshaft 7a, carry- 8a `ing the sprocket-wheels t", is advanced, with its bearing-blocks 7a' moving in the guideslots 7a2, thus tightening the endless belt m. At the same timeithepinion t also moves with said shaft,` and to provide for this movement on thepartof said pinion, which meshes with the pinion s', the said pinion s' likewise travels along the shaft s a corre-` sponding distance, the arma4 acting to still retain the piniont in engagement with the 9o pinion s', which supplies the power to drive 4theshaft 7c and the endless belt m.

In the practical operation of myfimproved `apparatus' the,vegetables` or fruits tobe assorted are first introdiicedinto the hopperf, and, power having been applied to operate the several parts of the apparatus in the manner described, 4the said vegetables or fruits are permittedto escape i to the chute f leading tothe innericylinderct of the assorter A. The loo revolution of the assorter Awill `cause all the smaller grades of the vegetables oriruits toescape through the slots CZ tothe outer cylinder a', the largest sizes of thevegetables with no `possibility of escape open :to them through the i o 5 slots cl will be` carried tothe lower-endet' the cylinder a, whence they` escape `through the chute g to a suitable, ,receptacle` below.4 Meanwhile the'sinaller grades of` vegetables have t escaped into the t larger,A outer` cylinder a', r 1c which, having the Same rotary movement iinpartedto it, ,will actiiua manner similar to` the cylinder ci to separate the next largersize, forithe, slots of the outercyliiider ctfbeing smallerthan thoseot the cylinder @all vegiig etables small enough to escape through the slots e will fall upon the platform 7i; but such i ofthe vegetablesas are too large toescape, through theV slots di are carried yto the lower end of the cylinder d( and ejected therefrom,` 12e In this manner two dierent grades of the, vegetables have beenlobtained,cwhile theresif` to escape through the said slots epass into the outer or larger cylinder b', where another division takes place, one grade passing out the lower end of said outer cylinder b and the remainder passing through the slots e of said outer cylinder to `suitable receptacles to receive them below. In this manner I am enabled by a continuous operation to provide for the assorting of the vegetables or fruits into six diiferent grades, thereby doing away with the labor involved heretofore in first passing the Vegetables through one assorter and then asserting the remainder by hand to bring about the desired result. The number of assorters may be increased to three or more confined within the same frame, thereby correspondingly increasing the number of grades to which the vegetables may be assorted.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination with the frame, of the endless chain belt m passing around the sprocket wheel 'L' fi', the said sprocket wheel z" being secured to the sliding shaft la journaled in guideways in the frame, a pinion t on said blocks lc travelingin the guideways Z, the pinion t meshing with the sliding pinion s' having the collar s2 thereon, the power shaft s, and the arm fu, secured to the sliding shaft lo and to the collar s2 of the sliding pinion s', and the threaded bar o and crank arm o', substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

.In testimony whereof I, the said JOHN H. HEINZ, have hereunto set my hand.

JOI-IN H. HEINZ. Witnesses:

RoBT. D. Torrini, J. N. COOKE. 

